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ATTENTION!! There will be a book check this week. You are required to having a reading book with you everyday
for class. We go to the library every Friday. I am flexible about library errands on the other days. It is an
expectation and requirement that you bring a reading book to class daily.
Welcome to MONDAY!! (Spirit Week - Black and Gold Day!)
Complete writing prompt. - Writing prompt is to work on your Membean! (1 hour due by Friday)
Continue on with Connotation and Denotation.
Connotation and Denotation
Denotation: the dictionary and literal meaning of a word
Connotation: the emotional / contextual / cultural meaning attached to a word; shades and degrees of meaning
Let's Look at Some Vocabulary.
Use a dictionary to clarify each word’s precise meaning.
Rank the words from most intense to least intense.
Angry: upset, enraged, irritated, sharp, vexed, livid, infuriated, incensed
Happy: mirthful, joyful, jovial, ecstatic, light-hearted, exultant, jubilant, giddy
Sad: poignant, despondent, sentimental, lugubrious, morose, woeful, mournful,
desolate
Honest: sincere, candid, outspoken, forthright, frank, unbiased, blunt
Nervous: anxious, apprehensive, hesitant, fretful, agitated, jittery, afraid
Smart: wise, perceptive, quick-witted, clever, sagacious, intellectual, brainy,
bright, sharp
Calm: placid, still, bored, composed, peaceful, tranquil, serene, soothing
Odor: Reeking, rotten, pungent, foul, aromatic, floral
Prepare to present your findings, and explain your ranking. Use the outline below to prepare for your presentation.
I studied words that have the same denotation as ....
The most intense word is ..... , which means ......
One would feel ..........if / when ...........[specific situation].
The least intense word is.......... , which means .........
One would feel ..........if / when ...........[specific situation].
My favorite word is ......., which means ........
One would feel ..........if / when ...........[specific situation].
An example... (if the word odor was a choice)
I studied words that have the same denotation as ....ODOR.
The most intense word is reeking , which means to smell strongly and unpleasantly
One would feel sick and gross if / when moving around in rotten reeking garbage.
The least intense word is aromatic , which means having a fragrant or sweet scent
One would feel relaxed and calm if / when smelling an aromatic bouquet of flowers.
My favorite word is ......., which means ........
One would feel ..........if / when ...........[specific situation].
Homework
Read 30 minutes. Summary of week's reading is due Friday.
Tuesday (Spirit Week - Sock It to Drugs!)
Connotation vs Denotation Activity
Since everyone reacts emotionally to certain words, writers often deliberately select words that they think will influence your reactions and appeal to your emotions. Read the dictionary definition (DENOTATION) below.
cock roach (kok' roch'), n. any of an order of nocturnal insects, usually brown with flattened oval bodies, some species of which are household pests inhabiting kitchens, areas around water pipes, etc. [Spanish cucaracha]
What does the word cockroach mean to you?
Is a cockroach merely an insect or is it also a household nuisance and a disgusting creature?
(We all know how I feel.)
Let’s start our adventure!
1. Do some words have more impact than others when describing the same thing? Can you use words to subtly give a message? Give examples.
2. **See what meanings poets Wild and Morley find in roaches in the following poems.
Roaches
Last night when I got up
to let the dog out I spied
a cockroach in the bathroom
crouched flat on the cool
porcelain,
delicate
antennae probing the toothpaste cap
and feasting himself on a gob
of it in the bowl:
I killed him with one unprofessional
blow,
scattering arms and legs
and half his body in the sink...
I would have no truck with roaches,
crouched like lions in the ledges of sewers
their black eyes in the darkness
alert for tasty slime,
breeding quickly and without design,
laboring up drainpipes through filth
to the light;
I read once they are among
the most antediluvian of creatures,
surviving everything, and in more primitive times
thrived to the size of your hand...
yet when sinking asleep
or craning at the stars,
I can feel their light feet
probing in my veins,
their whiskers nibbling
the insides of my toes;
and neck arched,
feel their patient scrambling
up the dark tubes of my throat.
--Peter Wild
Go through the poem....put a square around a denotative word describing a cockroach...example....antennae.
Go through the poem....put a circle around a connotative word describing the cockroach....example...filth.
from Nursery Rhymes for the Tender-hearted
Scuttle, scuttle, little roach-
How you run when I approach:
Up above the pantry shelf
Hastening to secrete yourself.
Most adventurous of vermin,
How I wish I could determine
How you spend your hours of ease,
Perhaps reclining on the cheese.
Cook has gone, and all is dark-
Then the kitchen is your park;
In the garbage heap that she leaves
Do you browse among the tea leaves?
How delightful to suspect
All the places you have trekked:
Does your long antenna whisk its
Gentle tip across the biscuits?
Do you linger, little soul,
Drowsing in our sugar bowl?
Or, abandonment most utter,
Shake a shimmy on the butter?
Do you chant your simple tunes
Swimming in the baby's prunes?
Then, when dawn comes, do you slink
Homeward to the kitchen sink?
Timid roach, why be so shy?
We are brothers, thou and I,
In the midnight, like yourself,
I explore the pantry shelf!
--Christopher Morley
Repeat this with the second poem...
Go through the poem....put a square around a denotative word describing a cockroach...example....antennae.
Go through the poem....put a circle around a connotative word describing the cockroach....example...filth.
Reread the dictionary definition.
Which of the denotative characteristics of a cockroach both poets include in their poems?
What characteristics does Wild give his roaches that are not in the dictionary definition?
What additional characteristics does Morley give to roaches?
In each poem, the insect acquires meaning beyond its dictionary definition. Both poets lead us away from a literal view of roaches to a nonliteral one.
Which poet succeeds in giving roaches favorable connotations?
Which poet comes closer to expressing your own feelings about roaches?
Homework
Read 30 minutes. Summary of week's reading is due Friday.
Wednesday (Spirit Week - Team Up Against Drugs!)
Complete writing prompt. - Writing prompt is to work on your Membean! (1 hour due by Friday)
Side Trip - Getting to Know TPCASTT
We have two great poems for practicing our TPCASTT Poetry Analysis Strategy.
Do you need a review?
(There are also some great charts and notes in my Notes/Handouts section.)
TP-CASTT Poetry Analysis Steps
1. Title: Ponder the title before reading.
Brainstorm what the poem will probably be about.
Read the poem out loud at least twice to start to understand it!
2. Paraphrase: Put the poem in your own words stanza by stanza.
Circle words you do not know.
Rephrase inverted lines.
3. Connotation: Examine the poetic devices, focusing on how those devices contribute to
1. Label the rhyme scheme (A,B,A,B/A,B,C,B etc.) & scan beat
2. Figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, allusions
3. Symbolism
4. Diction: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia,
A. Hard words (long vowels, a, e, i)
B. Soft words (short vowels ah, eh, ih)
C. Staccato words (short, choppy)
D. Legato words (long, flowing)
4. Attitude: Think about the attitude or MULTIPLE attitudes that are present. Look again
at diction, details, images-anything that conveys the TONE of the piece.
5. Shift: A shift in attitude or tone will often point to the real significance of a poem. Here
are some ways that a poet might signal a shift
Key words (but, however, yet,
Punctuation (dashes, periods,
Changes in line or stanza length (or
Irony (sometimes the irony hids the
Effect of structure or meaning
Changes in sound that indicate
changes in meaning (see diction)
Changes in diction (slang to
6. Title (Again): Now examine the title on an interpretative level
7. Theme: Theme is “a controlling idea or a subject for philosophical reflection in a
literary work.” It is what the poem is really about, not just is what is on the surface, literal
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/30738_analysis.pdf
Read 30 minutes. Summary of week's reading is due Friday.
Thursday (Stomp Out Drugs!)
Complete writing prompt. - Writing prompt is to work on your Membean! (1 hour due by Friday)
TPCASTT - Review "Roaches" and "from Nursery Rhymes for the Tender-hearted."
Read 30 minutes. Summary of week's reading is due Friday.
Friday (Say BOO to Drugs!)
Complete writing prompt. - Writing prompt is to work on your Membean! (1 hour due by Friday)
Haunted Library Visit
Reverse Engineering a Poem Using TPCASTT Components!
Read 30 minutes. Summary of week's reading is due today.
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases based on grade 8 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., precede, recede, secede).
Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
Interpret figures of speech (e.g. verbal irony, puns) in context.
Use the relationship between particular words to better understand each of the words.
Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., bullheaded, willful, firm, persistent, resolute).
Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Connotation and Denotation
Denotation: the dictionary and literal meaning of a word
Connotation: the emotional / contextual / cultural meaning attached to a word; shades and degrees of meaning
Positive versus Negative Connotation
Denotation: The specific, exact and concrete meaning of a word. This is the meaning you would find in a dictionary.
Mother
Definition: female parent
Connotation: The attitudes, feelings and emotions aroused by a word.
Mother • attitude: positive
• feelings: love and respect
• emotions: security and warmth
“Mommy” all of the above, plus
• extra connotations of familiarity and childhood
(children call their mothers “mommy” but adults do not)
A word can have positive or negative connotations. Sometimes words have different connotations to different people because of their experiences.
Scientists and philosophers focus on the denotations of words in order to communicate exact meaning. Writers of literature rely more heavily on connotation in order to evoke an emotional response in the reader.
Same Denotation, Different Connotation?
Two words can have the same definition while carrying different emotional content. One word may be cruel or insulting while another word might be neutral or positive.
Example: Aunt Myrna is proud of her nephew George. Aunt Willa, by contrast, disapproves of everything George does. Let’s see how their different views of George determine the language they use.
The fact is: George likes to save money when shopping.
Aunt Myrna says: “He’s thrifty.”
Aunt Willa says: “He’s stingy.”
Both of these words refer to saving money, but they have different connotations. “Thrifty” suggests that George is smart and knows how to find bargains. “Stingy” depicts George as greedy and lacking generosity.
The fact is: George works hard.
Aunt Myrna says: “He’s very focused on his job.”
Aunt Willa says: “He’s obsessed with his job.”
Both of these words refer to paying close attention to something; however, “focused” implies that someone is interested in what they’re doing, while “obsessed” suggests that they are addicted to it.
The fact is: George has a son and two daughters.
Aunt Myrna says: “George has three children.”
Aunt Willa says: “George has three brats.”
“Brat” is a slang word for a noisy, annoying child. Willa is implying that George’s children misbehave all the time.
Some words seem more loaded with meaning than others.
friendship, love, vacation, freedom usually arouse pleasant feelings
slum, drunkard, torture, criminal usually arouse unpleasant feelings
Politicians and advertisers try to choose words with positive connotations in order to make their message more appealing. On the other hand, if you are angry at someone, you may choose a word with negative connotations to describe them!
Things to remember:
• Words can have context-specific connotations that are not always obvious from their
dictionary meaning. For example, the word elderly means “old” but it can only be
applied to a person; no matter how old a house is, it would not be called “elderly.”
Similarly, blonde means “yellow” but it refers only to hair and to some kinds of wood; it
is never used to describe other yellow objects. It is important to be aware of this in
order to avoid misusing words.
• Sometimes writers choose euphemisms, which are nice ways to describe things that are
upsetting. For example, English has many euphemisms for death: instead of saying that
someone “died,” we might say they “passed away” or “departed.” This is a way to avoid
the negative associations with certain ideas. We will look further at euphemisms in a moment.
Extra Reading:
http://www.littlemiamischools.com/userfiles/321/connotation%20_%20denotation.pdf
More Connotation and Denotation
Read each of the following sentences. Decide from the context whether the speaker is showing approval (positive) or disapproval (negative) of the topic. Then select the best word to put into the sentence.
1. “The sooner we move out of this (home, dump),” said Jack, “the happier I’ll be.”
2. This cell phone is (expensive, overpriced), but I don’t mind paying extra because it has
so many useful features.
3. You’re lucky to have Wilma on your committee. She has lots of (original, crazy) ideas.
4. Boss Reed and his (cronies, employees) have controlled the politics in this city for
more than twenty years. I certainly hope the other party wins this year!
5. It was a beautiful spring day, and the (stench, scent) of apple blossoms filled the whole
yard.
6. I hope I don’t have to share an office with Janice. Sandra told me how (curious, nosy)
she can be.
7. “I think Fay is an excellent president,” said the principal. “She really knows how to
(manage, meddle).”
8. Will you please turn your stereo off? I can’t concentrate with all that (music, noise).
9. I love going camping and getting in touch with nature. The woods are filled with so
much (vermin, animal life).
10. What makes Jim such an excellent storyteller is his knack for (invention, lying).
11. Mr. Benton had better watch out for that new assistant of his. He’s a (clever, crafty)
one.
12. I have a lot of respect for Jenny’s father. He’s rather (reserved, antisocial) and
dignified.
13. My brother can’t stand his mother-in-law. She’s practically a millionaire, but she’s
about as (thrifty, miserly) as a person can get.
14. This coffee is very (bitter, strong) – just the way I like it!
15. Can you please ask the new saleswoman not to be so (enthusiastic, pushy)? She is
scaring away the customers.
Word selection and Connotation
"The Pledge of Allegiance"
Explain why the following words were better for this document than the synonyms that follow....
Putting Connotation into Practice - Analyzing Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Speech
(Diffuse the text first!)
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.*We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only."* We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3
http://blog.flocabulary.com/i-have-a-dream-speech-analysis-lesson-plan/
How Can I Figure Out That Connotation?
Using Context Clues....Word Detective
Flocabulary - Context Clues Word Detective
Word Detective: On the Case Activity
Context Clues Quick Quiz
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